WWA Info Exchange

[Lawrence]

I have been toying around with an idea for a while now, it is to use my Carvewright to create the bearing surface for a routered dish instead of using a template. The idea is that any shape could be made without the expense of buying templates. I decided to start off with a simple shape.



To create the shapes, I used the new 2d software (carvewright just released new software kits that are 2d/3d and act much more like coreldraw/inkscape and artcam than before... it is now much easier to use the CW software to create your own patterns. Here is a demo video since I know somone is going to ask!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ETbkUXelq7I

at any rate, I took a chunk off a hunk of 10.5 inch wide 3.5 inch thick maple and threw it on the CW. The "training wheel" bearing surfaces are only 1/4 inch deep, but that's all you need to create a surface that the bearing can ride on.

I cut the outside shape out on my bandsaw, using the groove created by my cw to follow along. I then used a colt maxicut bit (I love these bits) to hog out most of the wood and then used a handheld router and bit/bearing to create the depth (an extension is used to go deep) I then used a belt sander on the outside and a roundover bit on all the surfaces...

Finish will be 10-12 very thin coats of an oil poly mix-- getting thinner on the oil and heavier on the poly as I go along. I have found this finish to hold up very well in the past to food use, and after it is cured completely (about a month or two) all smell is gone and I am confident that it is food safe. I did a test a couple of years ago with salsa in a similar dish, and this finish held up just fine.

At any rate, thanks for looking, and always, comments, suggestions, or constructive criticism are appreciated.

Lawrence








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[DennisS]

Great idea and end product, Lawerence. Just curious, though - does the Carvewright have enough Z axis travel to allow just hogging out the dish with it?
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Cheers - Dennis

[newtooth]

LAWRENCE: DENNIS S raises a point about hogging out the negative spaces of the bowl. I am curious about the rough blank showing the holes bored for the recesses. It seems to me that it might have been more time economical to take out more material with more overlaping holes using a forstner bit. Did you indeed rough out more or did you start the router work from the point shown? Another question this time about the finish sequence. You indicate 10-12 coats of progressively thinner coats. Do you start with a master mix and thin each successive coat or do you mix each coat independently?
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newtooth
Rochester, MN

[Lawrence]

thanks for the feedback guys--

Dennis, the CW has a .86 effective carving depth (1 inch cutting) so it wouldn't be deep enough to do that. It would also take considerably longer than it did to rout it out so that was a factor as well.

Newtooth, it's kind of hard to tell, but I tried 3 different amount of "hoggings" to see if there was a significant difference for future bowls. The largest area had the most hogged out, and it was pretty obvious that it was easiest to rout. I'll do all the sections like this one the next time I do one.

As for finish, I usually mix a mason jar with genuine tung oil (about 15-20%) poly (about 50%) and mineral spirits. As I use up the jar, I won't add any more oil but will add a little poly and more spirits until by the final couple of coats the finishes are drying VERY quickly because they are (about, I'm guessing here) 60% spirits 35% poly 5% (or less) oil. It really kindof happens naturally with my finish schedule.

Lawrence
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